June 13,2018--The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region grew a further 9.5 percent to 30.22 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2018, according to Tibet Statistics Bureau. The growth rate was 2.7 percentage points higher than that of national growth rate, ranking the second nationwide.

In the first quarter of 2018, the gross output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries was 2.42 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent. The sowing area of vegetables reached 5,500 hectares, up 2.6 percent compared with the same period last year. A total of 33,500 tons of vegetables were yielded, up 5.3 percent year-on-year. The livestock population registered 18.67 million, a year-on-year decrease of 4 percent.

In terms of industry, the value-added output of industries enterprises above designated sized was 14 percent higher than that of 2017. The sales value in industry stood at 3.64 billion yuan, up 8.9 percent year-on-year. Besides, the region’s tertiary industry reported 24.85 million yuan of added value, a growth of 2.49 billion yuan over that of 2017, which occupied 82.2 percent of regional GDP and contributed 80.8 percent of Tibet’s economic growth. In the first quarter of 2018, Tibet received 1.06 million tourists from home and abroad, an increase of 49.5 percent compared with the same period of 2017. The visitors brought a total of 1.26 billion yuan in tourism revenue, up 47 percent.

As for the investment, Tibet saw an increase of 27 percent in fixed-asset investment, the growth rate of which is 8.9 percentage points faster than that of 2o17.

In the first three months, the investment to primary, secondary and tertiary industries increased 40.9 percent, 31.6 percent and 24 percent respectively. Investment in real estate development grew 0.8 percent compared with the same period last year. Private investment increased 65.6 over the same period last year.

The first quarter shows that consumption is growing fast. The total retail sales of consumer goods reached 13.59 billion yuan, up 14.5 percent year-on-year.

The region’s foreign trade saw a decrease in the three months of 2018, with 785 million yuan of imports, down 20.7 percent, and 531 million yuan of exports, down 5.1 percent year-on-year.

The market price is increasing gently. In the first quarter, Tibet’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.4 percent compared with the same period of 2018.

In terms of employment, Tibet created 4,300 jobs. The registered urban unemployment rate reached 2.84 percent. The resident income is growing fast. In the first quarter of 2018, urban residents’ per capita disposable income was 8,010 yuan, a year-on-year growth of 9.6 percent. Per capita disposable income of rural residents was 1,484 yuan, a year-on-year growth of 11.3 percent.

The regional government revenue reached 8.65 billion yuan, up 35.4 percent year-on-year, of which public financial budget revenue was 6.75 billion yuan, an increase of 48.9 percent compared with the same period last year. The regional fiance remains stable.